


The Yule Quest

by slightlytookish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-07
Updated: 2012-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-29 03:20:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/315240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the early days of his reign, Arthur is overworked, overtired, and quietly miserable. Merlin decides to bring a little Yuletide cheer into his life. Naturally, a quest is in order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Yule Quest

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to leashy_bebes for betaing and to ronsoftie for cheerleading!  
> Warning: Contains spoilers for episode 4x03.

Merlin stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips, surveying the scene. There was Arthur at his table, still hunched over a pile of papers, just as he'd been when Merlin had delivered his breakfast - the same breakfast that was lying mostly untouched at his elbow, even though Arthur had missed the midday meal, too.

Behind him the curtains had been flung aside, revealing a colourless sky heavy with clouds. It was going to snow again soon, and though the light was poor for reading Arthur didn't seem to notice. Merlin watched him for a moment. Everything about Arthur spoke of his unhappiness - the stiffness of his shoulders, the hard line of his mouth, the way the flickering light from the fire fell over his face and cast shadows that made him seem so much older than he normally appeared.

It made Arthur seem vulnerable in a way he never allowed himself to appear in public, and Merlin's heart wrenched to see him looking like that. He lingered a moment longer, deep in thought, before coming to a decision.

"Right," he said, striding over to the table. "You're coming with me." Arthur ignored him, at least until Merlin snatched the quill from his fingers and threw it aside.

"What the devil - _Merlin_!" He made a dive for the papers but Merlin was quicker.

"These can wait until later," he said as he dodged Arthur's grasping hands. "Or better yet, tomorrow."

"Have you completely lost your mind? The treaty with Mercia-"

"Is sorted, and has been sorted for nearly a week now. Bayard won't arrive until after the Yule feast anyway." Merlin scrambled out of Arthur's reach and skidded over to the bed, dropping to his knees and quickly shoving the papers underneath. "Remind me again why you're spending all your waking hours endlessly reading it? I thought you were meant to be king now, not training to be Geoffrey's assistant."

Perhaps that wasn't the right thing to say - perhaps it was still too soon - but Merlin was tired of tiptoeing around and he didn't think Arthur appreciated it either, deep down in that part of him that wasn't so overburdened with grief and responsibility. He gave the papers one last shove and sat back on his heels, grinning up at Arthur.

Above him Arthur was glaring, but there was an old familiar twist to his mouth that told Merlin he was doing his best to keep from smiling. He hauled Merlin to his feet roughly but his hand, when he let it linger on Merlin's shoulder, was gentle. "If there's one fold on those papers, one tiny crease-"

"I'll have to rewrite them, I know." Merlin dragged Arthur over to the wardrobe and threw open the doors. "Now you'll need your gloves, and your cloak, and don't you have a scarf? I thought you did..."

Arthur sighed, sounding terribly put-upon. "Is there any particular reason why you're throwing my wardrobe into turmoil, Merlin?"

Merlin spotted a scrap of red wool peeking out from beneath a pile of shirts. He snatched it up and slung it around Arthur's neck. "Because," he said, smiling again as he tied it into a jaunty knot, "we're going on a quest."

"A quest?" Arthur gave him a disbelieving look. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You know that thing where knights go out and search for something?" Merlin said as he bundled Arthur into his cloak. "We're going on one of those."

"I see," Arthur said, though his tone of voice suggested he didn't see anything at all. "And who is sending us on this quest?"

"I am."

Arthur laughed. "That's not how a quest works."

"Really? Because that's how mine works. Don't forget your gloves."

"I don't have time for this silliness, Merlin. The treaty-"

"There's nothing silly about this quest. It's very serious and... noble. Fit for a king, you could say."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Do you care to tell me more about it?"

"I can't, sorry." Merlin tried his best to look sympathetic. "The first rule of this quest is that it must remain secret."

"And the second rule is...?"

"That you're not allowed to ask any questions," Merlin replied cheerfully.

Arthur gave him a baleful look.

"It'll be fun," Merlin said. "More fun than looking at that treaty for the hundredth time, I promise."

"All right," Arthur said, sighing. "I suppose I'd better go along with your ridiculous plan or you'll go on pestering me and I'll never get any work done." He looked Merlin up and down. "You're not going looking like that, though."

Merlin blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

Arthur waved his hand imperiously. "Those rags you call clothes-"

"Hey!"

"They don't look very warm. Wear this." He tossed another of his cloaks at Merlin.

"I couldn't-" A pair of fur-lined gloves were shoved into his hands. "Arthur, I don't need-"

Arthur rolled his eyes and manhandled Merlin to the door. "The last thing _I_ need is for you to collapse from the cold like some kind of hapless maiden."

"Hey!"

Arthur's only response was a laugh, a happy rumble that Merlin hadn't heard in far too long. It made him laugh too, as he slung on the cloak and followed Arthur out of the room.

***

"The decorations are nice, aren't they?" Merlin said as they made their way through the castle. Candles flickered in the windows and red ribbons and garlands of holly and evergreen lined the halls. Merlin thought they made the castle look brighter and more cheerful than it had in months but Arthur didn't seem to agree.

"They're all right, I suppose," he said, giving them a cursory glance as he led the way downstairs. "Where exactly are we going?"

"To the kitchens first, because someone hasn't eaten all day." Arthur had the grace to look embarrassed, much to Merlin's surprise. "And then..."

"Yes?"

"You'll see. It's not far."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "You're acting even stranger than usual, and that's saying a lot."

"What? I'm never strange."

"If by 'never' you mean 'all the time'..."

"If people hear you saying things like that they'll wonder why you've kept me on all these years."

"Well, even a half-mad and incompetent servant is better than none."

Merlin smiled, used to this sort of badgering. He didn't expect Arthur to add, "But I suppose I could think of a few other reasons."

Merlin stole a glance and was surprised to see Arthur looking at him, _really_ looking at him, with none of the distraction he'd shown since the coronation. It made Merlin's ears grow warm, being the object of such dedicated scrutiny, and he felt them burning even more when Arthur smiled at him, looking almost fond.

"Come on," he said, bumping Merlin's shoulder with his own. "I thought you said something about a quest."

***

After a quick detour to the kitchens (for bread and cheese and apples) and the armoury (for a large and sturdy axe, prompting Arthur to declare Merlin "mad as a barrel of kittens" before insisting on carrying it himself) Merlin led the way into the woods.

The forest crept quite close to the castle walls, and since Merlin promised they wouldn't have to venture far there was no need for them to bother with horses. Beside him Arthur was quiet, apparently in one of those rare moods where he actually listened to Merlin and went along with his ideas without too much fuss. Actually those moods weren't so rare anymore, Merlin reflected. Since Arthur became king he seemed to listen to Merlin more closely and value his opinion more, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone, least of all himself.

The thought made Merlin feel warm inside despite the bitter cold, and gave an extra bounce to his step that didn't go unnoticed by Arthur. "I don't know what you're so pleased about," he grumbled.

"I was just thinking how peaceful it is without you asking 'Are we there yet?' every five minutes."

"Very funny," Arthur said, looking wry. He adjusted the axe on his shoulder and took a deep breath, gazing around. "It's nice to get away from the castle for a while, I suppose," he said reluctantly.

Merlin stopped in his tracks and feigned a look of shock. "Could that be - are you actually saying I was right?"

"Don't sound so smug," Arthur said, though he was smiling, just a bit. "It won't happen again. In fact, I don't even think it happened now. I think you're imagining things, Merlin."

"Yes, sire." Merlin grinned. He led them a little further on, casting his eyes this way and that, before finally stopping in front of a tree. It was just the right size, not too big and not too scrawny, and he thought it would look quite nice in the corner of Arthur's room by the window. "Here we are! What do you think?"

Arthur circled it, studying the ground around the trunk and looking up at the snow-dusted branches. "This wasn't the quest, was it? Bringing me all the way here to look at a tree? Bit of a let-down, really."

"No, the quest was to find a tree, cut it down, and take it back to decorate."

"Decorate?"

"It's something we did in Ealdor. Every year we'd decorate a tree with candles and ribbons for Yule." Merlin wilted a little under Arthur's unimpressed stare. "It's nice to look at. Very festive."

"Sounds... charming," Arthur said, and judging by the tone of his voice it was clear that he thought it was nothing short of ridiculous. "Why on earth would anyone want to bring a tree indoors?"

"Because - Yule - it's tradition -" Merlin huffed an irritated sigh. "Sorry, this was a stupid idea. I just thought... never mind. Come on, let's go."

But Arthur lowered the axe and leaned on the handle expectantly, showing no sign of leaving. "What did you think?"

Merlin shrugged. "I thought maybe all the usual Yule customs were making you unhappy this year, reminding you of your father, and that's why you've been working so hard lately, to try and avoid all of it."

He hesitated, but when Arthur didn't stop him he went on. "So I thought if I showed you a different tradition, one that isn't common in Camelot, you'd... I don't know. Cheer up a little?" He shuffled his feet awkwardly, waiting for Arthur to roll his eyes or laugh or maybe even berate Merlin for wasting his time.

But Arthur merely studied him for a long moment, wearing a strange expression Merlin couldn't read at all, before he hefted the axe once more. "Stand back," he said gruffly. "I wouldn't want you to do something idiotic like try and catch the tree when it falls."

***

"This was your idea so stop moaning about it," Arthur said when Merlin dropped his end of the tree for the third time and squinted at the castle in the distance. It had started snowing again, just a few fat flakes lazily drifting down from the sky, but somehow they made the castle and all its warmth and cosiness seem impossibly far away.

"It hasn't moved, has it?" Merlin asked, trying to catch his breath. The tree might not be very large but it was heavy enough, even with Arthur's help. He stretched his arms over his head and winced at the pull of the muscles. He'd be a sore and sorry mess tomorrow. "The castle didn't seem so far away before."

"You have only yourself to blame," Arthur replied. He looked positively gleeful.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Excuse me for wanting to cheer you up, _your majesty_." He grabbed the tree again, gave it a good yank in the direction of the castle, and had just a moment to realise that Arthur had let go before he promptly fell on his face.

By the time he'd surfaced and rubbed the snow out of his eyes Arthur was bent double from laughing so hard.

"You should have seen your face," he said, wiping away actual tears of laughter. "And your legs!" Arthur dropped the axe and flailed his arms around ridiculously, evidently doing an impression of Merlin's inelegant flop into the snow.

"Enjoyed it, did you?" Merlin said, casually packing a handful of snow into a nice, neat ball.

Arthur took a shaky breath, apparently trying to calm himself, before dissolving into another round of laughter. "I've never seen anyone - _mmrph_!"

The snowball hit him square in the face, knocking him off his feet. Merlin had better aim than most people gave him credit for, and the good sense to hide his amusement behind an innocent-looking smile when Arthur sat up a moment later, shaking the snow out of his hair and glaring.

"That - you - _Merlin_!" he sputtered before vaulting over the tree and throwing Merlin to the ground.

Merlin yelped and tried to wriggle away, but Arthur held him firm and mashed a handful of snow into his face for good measure, grinning all the while. Merlin shook his head like a dog, trying to get the wet out of his eyes, and surreptitiously tried to grab another handful of snow. Unfortunately Arthur spotted this and rewarded Merlin for his efforts by lifting away his scarf and shoving more snow down his shirt.

And then, to make matters worse, Arthur began to tickle him, his hands flying from Merlin's side to under his arms to beneath his chin so that Merlin could only lament the death of chivalry, and laugh, and find more snow to rub in Arthur's face.

They tussled like that for a little while longer, rolling about in the snow until they were both soaked and flushed with exertion and laughter. At last Merlin managed to scramble away, only to be wrenched back by Arthur.

Merlin landed on him heavily, half-sprawled across Arthur's chest. When he pushed himself up intending to squirm away the sight of Arthur lying beneath him, with his damp hair hanging in his eyes and his pink cheeks and the red curve of his grin standing out brightly against the snow, made it impossible for Merlin to do anything but kiss him.

As kisses went it wasn't the greatest - Arthur's nose was nudging cold against his cheek, and Merlin's knees were freezing where they dug into the snow - and it was probably the stupidest thing Merlin had ever done, and perhaps the most impulsive, even if he really had wanted to kiss Arthur for the longest time. All of these thoughts swirled through Merlin's mind in an instant, bringing him somewhere close to panic until Arthur did something wholly unexpected and kissed him back.

It was tentative and soft at first, his lips brushing lightly against Merlin's as if Arthur felt just as unsure as Merlin did. But then Arthur rose up on his elbows and leaned a little closer, and Merlin titled his head a bit to the side, and suddenly they were kissing properly, long and slow and deep. It made Merlin tingle all the way down to his toes, especially when he felt Arthur's tongue sliding against his own, and when they finally pulled apart he couldn't think beyond the first thing that popped into his mind. "I've always wanted to kiss in the snow."

For a moment Arthur looked at him like he was mad but then he threw his head back and laughed. It was snowing more heavily now, and the flakes caught in Arthur's hair and eyelashes, stealing away Merlin's breath. "Only you, Merlin."

"What?" he asked, feeling bashful and vulnerable and painfully aware that he was practically sitting in Arthur's lap.

"Nothing," Arthur said, his expression going soft and fond. "Time to go, before this storm grows worse." He bounded to his feet, pulling Merlin up alongside him, before surprising him with another kiss that was all too brief but full of promise.

"All right," Merlin said, feeling just a little dazed. His toes were still tingling and his knees were a little wobbly, and Arthur kept stealing glances at him as they hefted the tree again. It felt impossibly light in his arms and Merlin couldn't keep the smile off his face as they trudged through the snow.

***

The sight of the king and his manservant dragging a tree back into the castle caused a bit of a stir.

"Is this what kings call hunting these days?" Gwaine asked, grinning as he watched them manoeuvre it up the stairs.

"I was hoping we'd have venison for dinner," Leon said, not even trying to disguise his pout. "Or perhaps some boar. I'm famished!"

Somehow they made it past the curious onlookers to Arthur's chambers and dropped the tree just inside the door. Merlin crouched over it, brushing away the snow and the ice and trying to collect his thoughts.

They hadn't said much on their way back but now that they were home Merlin could feel the walls of the castle, which he'd thought so warm and cosy earlier, closing in around them. He wondered if Arthur was already regretting their kiss, here where he could see his duties and obligations everywhere he looked. Merlin felt something cold and sad settle in the pit of his stomach at the thought.

"I thought we could put it by the window," he said, straightening up but refusing to meet Arthur's gaze. "I'll just fetch some water for it, and some candles, and I'll see if Cook will let me have some berries for a garland. I'm not sure if she will; she can be a bit cranky, you know..." He trailed off as Arthur crowded into his space so that Merlin's back was pressed against the door. "Um. Unless you had a different idea?"

Arthur gave him a look that made Merlin's insides flutter. "You didn't think I rushed us back here so we could decorate the tree, did you?"

"Uh. Maybe?" Merlin shrugged helplessly. "I wasn't sure if you'd still want to - you know - inside the castle."

Arthur looked amused as he shifted closer. Some distant corner of Merlin's mind, the part that wasn't preoccupied with the warmth of Arthur's body pressed against his own, realised that he was reaching around to lock the door. "If I knew you preferred the cold snow to a nice warm bed-"

"No, no," Merlin said quickly. "Warm beds are definitely better. It's just, we wouldn't want to ruin your blankets with our wet clothes." He let his hands travel up Arthur's chest to rest at the clasp to his cloak.

He dressed and undressed Arthur every day, but now, when his fingers brushed against Arthur's throat Merlin felt him swallow heavily. "You know, Merlin, sometimes you're actually clever."

"I try my best." He fumbled with the clasp and managed to loosen it before Arthur pulled him into another kiss.

It was nothing like the kiss in the woods. There was no awkwardness now, no hesitance, only desire and need. Arthur's lips were wet against his own, and hungry, and Merlin was left there still clutching the clasp to his cloak as he sank into the kiss. He wedged his knee between Arthur's, the still-damp fabric of their trousers snagging against each other's, and felt the stiff outline of Arthur's cock against his hip that matched the stirring of his own. It made Merlin's breath catch and he tugged Arthur closer until he was trapped there, enjoying the feeling of being pinned between the warmth of Arthur's body and the unyielding door pressing against his back.

"Bed. Now," he said, and for once Arthur didn't remind him that he was the one that should be giving the orders. They made it across the room in fits and starts, stopping along the way to kiss and shed each other's clothes, until finally Arthur tipped Merlin onto the bed and tumbled along after him.

It took them a moment to get their knees and elbows sorted, but eventually they ended up just as they had been earlier in the woods, with Arthur on his back and Merlin most definitely in his lap.

"Is this all right?" It wasn't the first time Merlin had done this, but it was his first time with Arthur, and even now a part of him was still worried that Arthur was going to call it all off. He squirmed a little, suddenly feeling awkward and oddly shy, but stilled when Arthur's hands came to rest on his hips, warm and firm.

"Shh," he said. "You're perfect just like this."

Merlin searched his face but Arthur didn't seem to be joking. He was looking at Merlin with something akin to wonder in his eyes, and wherever his gaze went his hands soon followed. Merlin shivered and sought Arthur's lips, licking into his mouth as he let himself be touched and let himself touch Arthur, too.

Arthur pulled away when his hand finally drifted to the swell of Merlin's arse. He watched Merlin closely as he let one finger dip inside teasingly. "May I?"

"Yes," Merlin said, pushing back against him. Arthur fumbled a pot of salve out of his beside cupboard and quickly coated his fingers before slipping them one by one inside that hot, sensitive space, working him open until Merlin was a sweaty, writhing mess.

He snatched up the salve and slicked Arthur's cock with a trembling hand. "Come on, I'm ready."

"But-"

"I'm ready," Merlin insisted, rising up on his knees. He paused a moment and looked down at Arthur, all wide blue eyes and mouth slack with anticipation, before he sank down on to his cock.

Arthur surged up to meet him, his hands clasping tight to Merlin's hips once more. They rocked together eagerly and without grace, building momentum until Arthur suddenly yanked Merlin down hard and spilled deep inside him.

Merlin squeezed around him, making Arthur groan as he continued to drive into him until he was finished. He lifted Merlin away then, but before Merlin could protest the world suddenly shifted as he found himself rolled onto his back. Arthur loomed over him and Merlin didn't even have a moment to catch his breath before Arthur bent his head and sucked Merlin's cock into his mouth.

"Oh, god." Merlin dug his heels into the mattress as he tried and failed to keep from thrusting against Arthur's face. Arthur didn't seem to mind and Merlin didn't know what surprised him more, that or the fact that Arthur was doing this at all. His hands roamed Arthur's shoulders before coming to settle in his hair. He knew he was close. "Arthur-"

But Arthur didn't pull away. Merlin's thighs trembled, straining as he watched Arthur's head bobbing between them, until he gave a sudden cry and came hard, his hips bucking wildly.

Arthur's cheeks were red and his mouth very wet when he lifted his head and came to lie beside him. Merlin reached out for him with shaky arms and allowed himself to be bundled close against Arthur's side.

"Didn't think you were the type to cuddle," he said when he finally managed to catch his breath.

Arthur snorted. "This isn't cuddling. I should have known you'd be useless afterward. If I let you go now you'd probably flop on to the floor like some sort of overgrown fish."

"If you want me to leave-"

"No," Arthur said firmly. He flung his arm around Merlin's waist and tugged him even deeper into their non-cuddle.

Merlin hid a smile against Arthur's shoulder. He could see their Yule tree lying on its side by the door where they'd abandoned it. Later they would set it to rights. Merlin could see it all in his mind's eye: the tree standing by the window, its flickering candles illuminating the ribbons and garlands of berries draped around it. Maybe he'd even find some other things to decorate it with, little bits and bobs to nestle in the dark branches.

But all that would happen later. For now Merlin snuggled closer in the circle of Arthur's arms and let his eyes drift closed, utterly content.


End file.
